1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for aligning objects composed of figures, images and characters, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
A rendering tool having a function for aligning objects that a user has laid out on content is known in the prior art. A pointing device used when aligning objects is a device such as a mouse, which has only one point for pointing.
Accordingly, in a case where a plurality of objects are aligned, the user first selects the plurality of objects by dragging a mouse and then causes an alignment menu to be displayed by right-clicking the mouse, by way of example.
The user further selects the alignment mode of the desired type from among the items displayed in the menu. Thus, the user follows a series of steps to align the plurality of objects.
Conventionally, a technique using a touch-sensitive panel or the like for allowing a user to designate a plurality of positions by his fingers simultaneously (referred to as “multi-touch”) is also known.
Further, a technique for enlarging, reducing and rotating an object based upon a change in distance or a change in angle between two points designated by a finger has been disclosed (e.g., see the specification of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-290585).
However, in a case where a plurality objects are aligned by an operation using a pointing device such as a mouse having only one point for pointing, a problem which arises is that the procedure followed by the user is troublesome.
Further, an operation using multi-touch is limited to an operation directed toward only one object.